Sunday in the Park

Life doesn't get any better than a perfect Spring Day in Central Park.

My mom was in town and after a whirlwind weekend of seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway, a birthday party celebration, back-to-back baseball games, etc...we were finally able to kick back and relax!

Once in the park, we tossed baseballs, chased birds, floated in a row boat and my favorite... took a nap in the sun! Central Park is an oasis for city dwellers. I leave after most visits with a renewed sense of being.

We all tumbled home on the subway...all happy, hungry and EXHAUSTED!

Let's Play School

The other day, I overheard a young girl on the subway telling her father that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. This got me to thinking... how come some kids love school, and the idea of learning, while others can think of nothing but summer vacation?

I remember when I was a kid, I loved to play school. My brother and i would take turns being the teacher (I usually was!) , and each of us would patiently sit at our desks with our pencils and notebooks, pretending to learn.

Nowadays, my boys play on the computer...no desk or teacher! And I know that it's not just my boys. With TV and video games being so dominate in their life, are kids pretending as much anymore?

Or is school, and the idea of education, less "fun" than it used to be?

A Humility Lesson from a Yoga Mom

I find humility in the funniest situations. Usually it comes from my kids...like when they point out that I've used a cuss word or if I drink straight out of the milk container. My most recent dose came from a perfect stranger.

I was enjoying a rare moment over breakfast with my two younger boys at the local diner. Henry was madly munching on a chocolate chip waffle with whipped cream and little Wesley was trying to keep up with his big brother. This was a special treat for all of us...breakfast out and the "candy" for breakfast. I was happy just watching them.

We were happily chatting about nothing when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of THOSE super fit Tribeca moms. You know them-- moms who sport around in Lycra to show off her hard work while carrying a water bottle and yoga matt. Although I haven’t worn spandex in years, I am always surprised with my envious reaction of any mom who finds the time to work out and look amazing.

I watched as she and her two cute girls bounced into the table next to ours. My choice of a chocolate chips and waffle breakfast was a stark contrast her freshly squeezed orange juice and poached egg diet. My morning deflated a bit. Her healthy lifestyle and seemingly Zen-like presence annoyed me to no end.

Then I found myself ease dropping on their conversation. Her girls were perfectly poised, napkins in lap and seemed to be on their best behavior when I heard.

“Alexa, if you want your sister to speak to you nicely, then you have to show her respect. Your tone was not appropriate. I suggest you ask her again, this time changing your tone.” An inaudible mumble with egg in her mouth…

“Better. Now, girls, respect in our family is very important.” I could almost envision a DEEP yoga breath happening as she followed up with, “We all need to speak to each other in respectful tones…” Ooooommmmmmmmmmmmm.

I turned my attention back to my family. The boys were fully jacked up with sugar and demanding my full attention. I was painfully aware both of them speaking loudly, urgently and at the same time! It was time to leave.

I quickly paid and rushed the boys out the door to school. As I walked into my chaotic life, I smiled. The Yoga mom was right!

We do need to speak to each other with respect. Respect is a critical life lesson for all young people. After taking a deep breath, I quietly thanked my super fit friend and walked with confidence into my day!

Art, Culture (and Children?)

My oldest son recently used his birthday money to buy a new video game. And now...both Fischer and Henry are obsessed with playing every waking moment. Sunday morning, they bound out of bed, raced to our rooms, whispered "I love you!" immediately hopping on the computer! (I couldn't help thinking, hmm, were their sweet words used to lessen the likelihood of my setting computer limits?)

However, this Saturday, I has another agenda. I wanted to take the boys to the Guggenheim Museum to see a massive art installation by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. I needed an angle...how could I entice them to give up their "earned" computer time for an ART MUSEUM? It seemed to be an uphill (and almost fruitless) battle.

So I told them the truth.

The exhibit was a once in a life time opportunity, having travveled across oceans to set up. And never again would they be able to see exploding cars danging from the ceiling of the Guggenheim or a pack of wolfs running accross the walls overhead or paintings made using dynomite!

In the end, curiousity got the cat. All three boys joined me. Once there, they chatted enthusiastically about how "Cool the cars were" dangling above us and they each had a theory about how the artist did it. They even waited in line to take a boat ride in a boat made of yak skin through Cai Guo-Quiang's art pieces.

The best of all, they didn't miss their computer at ALL!

Springtime is in the Air!

I love this time of year because it always makes me feel like I'm a kid again.

Each spring when I was younger, my family would always devote an entire weekend to planting new flowers and getting our gardens ready for spring and summer. It was so much fun because we got to put on old clothing and play in the dirt! My dad would walk around with his wheelbarrow full of fresh, new dirt, and my mom would carry around trays of seed packets and flower pots, but I had the most important job.

I was in charge of digging rows of holes for each flower, and then gently dropping them in. I knew that my job was vital to the appearance of the garden because if I dug the hole too deep, the flower would disappear into it, and if I dug it too shallow, the flower wouldn't be able to take root and grow. I took my job very seriously, and carefully dug rows of identical holes with my own blue-handled shovel.

I can still remember how great it felt to dig in the dirt and be in charge of the flowers. I remember laying in the sun after we had finished planting, laughing with my family and drinking lemonade. I also remember the pride I felt as the season went on, knowing that our garden was so beautiful and colorful because of me.

Hmm. Now it's less of a question of how to dig in the dirt with my boys but where? New Yorkers have precious little space to devote to making mud pies!

Feeling Grateful

I woke up this morning overwhelmed with gratitude. There are SO many people in my life that help me everyday! In business so many times we selfishly hold onto information and don't share it out of fear. So, today's the day I throw it back to the world!

At the Warm Biscuit Bedding Co. I work with talent that never ceases to amaze me:
- My uber talented friend, Ron Giusti, designs our amazing e mails and website.
- My good friend Polly Wilson of Barn Dandys has been my counselor whenever I question my parenting skills
- My dear amigo, Jamie of Jamies Painting & Designs motivates me whenever I can't figure out what the next step is
- Shannon Sunderland & Ann Anderson are young, talented jewelry designers who's mom jewelry has captured the hearts of many new moms!
- Vicky Vinson in my Oklahoma workshop who's careful craftsmanship in our Custom Corner furniture and relentless belief in our company vision inspires me everyday
- My crazy and beautiful art director, Samantha who has weathered so many storms and still comes up with brilliant new ideas.
- The people in our warehouse who make sure each package is delivered on time
- My husband, Brad who's belief in me and the company never waivers
- My 3 boys who inspire me everyday to work harder and smarter

I am thankful I have such talent in my life yet most importantly, that I am not going it alone.

From Opera to Baseball!

So last weekend was about opera...and this weekend was the official start of our baseball season.

Yikes!

With 3 sports loving boys, our weekends are suddenly FILLED to the brim with:
- baseballs
- bats
- mitts
- snacks

Moving past my initial boredom as the games seem to drag indefinitely, I started noticing the elements of sportsmanship they were learning.

The team was genuinely proud on each others accomplishments, jumping up and down when someone "wacked" the ball or got an out. In fact, catching a ball for my 8 year old was a quite the surprise.

"WOW...look at that! I caught it." Of course, after marveling at his feat for a while, he then woke up to the reality that he needed to do something with it!

His teammate were yelling, "Henry, throw it to me! Throw it to me!" He slowly lobbed the ball to 2nd base. The runner started to (thankfully) slide too soon, stopping a good foot before the base. The second baseman miraculously stopped the ball and tagged the runner....OUT!!

Whew! Henry became a small giant! His teammates ran up to him and hugged him with excitement. Henry strutted around for a minute with pride and then got back to the business of baseball. After all, he and his teammates had a job to do, together!